[78-L] playing my 78's

[Kopic, John]

Hello,
  My name is John.  I started collecting 78 records about a year ago.  I bought a new Audio Technica LP120 turntable to play them in hi-fi as well as a Shure 78 needle,cartridge.
  My problem is that I'm wondering if I have the correct set up to play them.  While most records play fine, some of the records, although they look good with few or no scratches, do not play very well.  I have set the needle weight at 2-2.5 grams and tracking at same.  I can see that on some of the records that the needle is pulling way over to one side while trying to track.  Don't know if I just don't have this set up correctly or if the records themselves are in too bad of shape to play at all unless I use my wind up phonograph.  Some of the records are manufactured off center or may have a small warp to them and unless I adjust the weight higher than 2.5 grams, they will skip.
  The Shure 78 needle and cartridge say optimal weight is between 4.0-5.0 grams but if I set the counter weight at that high a level the needle sits too hard on the record and sounds terrible.  Is this just the nature of the beast??
  What are some of the other 78 collectors using to play their records??   Is there a better needle to play them other than the Shure 78??  How are other people aligning their cartridge and setting the tracking weight?   I am still quite new at this awesome hobby and any info. you provide will be most helpful.
  Please email your response to my personal email:  jkopic at yahoo.com<mailto:jkopic at yahoo.com>.
  Thankyou in advance for your taking the time to respond.
John K.

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